GSCE Exam Stress – Me not Teen

So my beloved Teen is taking his exams this year. I can’t actually believe this time has come around this fast. It seems like yesterday that he was just starting high school. Honestly.

I’ve been stressed about his GCSE’s for at least a year now! Pathetic I know, but they’re important and I just want him to do as well as he can. To achieve his potential.

He’s not stressed though.

He doesn’t seem to have a care in the world!

I’ve been banging on about preparation and revision this past year but it’s pretty much fallen on deaf ears most of the time!. Teen wasn’t thinking or worrying about his GCSE’s a year ago…. Jeez, he’s only just starting to acknowledge them now! He was still messing around at school a year ago!

Causing me stress.

Going into year 11 last September, thankfully, he started to knuckle down. Taking things a bit more seriously at long last. But even so, I had to be on his back, asking him questions, asking his teachers questions so that I was clear on what needed to be done by when. I didn’t think he was doing enough though and even his mock exams he didn’t take THAT seriously. He did revise a little and did better in some subjects than was expected, but did ridiculously bad in others.

Causing me stress.

He still wasn’t stressed though. Said he’d be fine in the ACTUAL exams!

Oh yeah? I wouldn’t count on it matey.

He completed all of his Controlled Assessments and did incredibly well in them, which is fantastic. Controlled Assessments are done in school under exam conditions. They replaced the old coursework aspect of the GCSE’s and were introduced to eliminate the possibility of cheating at home by either using the internet or getting parents to do it. This used to happen apparently! Students still have to prepare for the controlled assessments but if they do well in them it gives them a head start towards their final results, so very important. And I’m happy Teen managed to get excellent results in his.

But now we are in the final push before the exams start.

Teen’s first one, Biology is on the 12th May. Exactly SIX WEEKS from today!

And I’m stressed. I don’t like it at all.

I wish I could stop worrying but I can’t help it. There’s so much riding on the results.

His results will determine whether he can get a place on the Sixth Form course at school and do the A-Levels he’s chosen. Yes there are always alternatives but it’ll be so much better if he doesn’t have to re-think his options. Yes he can re-take some GCSE’s if he needs to but that’s not ideal.

I wish it didn’t matter. I know Teen is a bright, witty young man… why should his results of a one or two hour exam on one day dictate his future? Even if he fails, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a bright, witty young man! It means that maybe he didn’t prepare well enough for the exam, or that he had a bad day, or the nerves got he better of him.

Being 16 is a difficult, challenging time for a person; raging hormones, confusing emotions…. the eagerness to get out into the big wide world, the need to enjoy life and have fun….. exam time just gets in the way!

I get that. I was 16 once. But times are hard out there and the competition is fierce for jobs. If you haven’t got a good education with decent exam results, you’re going to be overlooked, no matter how bright you are!

Teen knows this. He should do, I’ve drummed it into him enough times!

But he’s still showing no signs of stress and I suppose that’s a good thing. He’s confident he’s going to pull it out of the bag. He’s drawn up a revision timetable and he is sticking to a plan, so fingers crossed.

I suppose it’s a good thing that he’s not stressed, but it must be difficult if you feel he should be doing more….I don’t envy you being at this stage. I’ll probably be tearing my hair out when it happens to us!

Different people cope with different situations in their own ways.Maybe your son is not showing stress because he controls it well. I would encourage him and provide support which will help him more than nagging which most parents tend to do.

I can so see where you are coming form but there is only so much you can do and worst case scenario – he has to resit the exams and learn that maybe he wasn’t so good after all. On the other hand, he may really be super confident. Sending hugs your way and hoping he does really well.

Crieky, I think that I will be exactly the same as you when it comes to Grace’s exams – although I think that she will be the kind of girl who will stress as much as I do! Then I will have to be the one who is calm. I am sure that he will knuckle down when it comes to it. Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x

Oh no I am not looking forward to any of it. Although I think with the A Levels it’s up to him… he’ll be older and if he’s not prepared to put in the work by that time then he deserves to fail. Can’t be on his back all his life! 😉

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Hi there, I'm Carolynne, and I'm a Mum of four... identical twins, a tween and a troublesome Teen! I work part time and love going to the theatre and days out with my children! I enjoy writing my little blog here and I really hope you enjoy reading x